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Northwestern (7) vs. Arkansas (10) TV: 11 a.m. Friday at Waco, Texas, ESPN2. Winner plays: at 1:30 p.m. Sunday vs. Baylor (2)-Northwestern State (15) winner. Quick look: Can the team that finished fourth in the Big Ten regular season beat the ninth finisher in the Southeastern Conference? That may depend on how the Wildcats (23-8) react to being in their first NCAA tournament since 1997. Arkansas (17-13) last made the tourney in 2012. Both teams have short benches: Only seven Northwestern women averaged more than 5.3 minutes per game, only seven Razorbacks more than 8.5. Arkansas ranks 21st in Division I scoring defense (55.4) but is 262nd in offense (60.3). Pint-sized Northwestern...

The Big Ten Tournament has a nifty network threesome when it comes to television this week. Three networks -- CBS, ESPN, and the Big Ten Network -- will provide extensive coverage.
The more, the merrier from the perspective of Commissioner Jim Delany....

For the last 15 years, Mike Greenberg has teamed with Mike Golic for the popular "Mike & Mike" morning sports talk show that airs on ESPN Radio, ESPN2 and locally on WMVP-AM 1000.
As great gigs go, Greenberg's has to rank right up there....

Sling TV, a new streaming service from Dish Network, may have just enough content to put Internet television over the top with would-be cable cord cutters.
Launched this month, Sling TV streams programming on devices with Internet connections. There is...

WGN-Ch. 9 announced its 2015 schedule for the Chicago Cubs on Friday, the 68th consecutive season for the broadcast partnership after a long offseason of negotiations.The Tribune Media station will produce 48 Cubs baseball telecasts, including three...

Stuart Scott was in his element, working a "Monday Night Football" game, when he was forced to leave for an appendix operation.
Doctors discovered a tumor during surgery and Scott was diagnosed with cancer. But he made a point of continuing...

Dish Network's online television service, Sling TV, debuted Monday as a way to entice people who have dropped their cable or satellite TV service or never had one.
It's cheaper than a traditional pay-TV package, but it comes with fewer channels. Anyone...

Last summer, when Naperville Central senior Michael Kolzow verbally committed to play football at Illinois State, he knew he was heading to a program that missed making the playoffs the previous year.
Then in January, he found himself glued to ESPN2,...

The promotional banners for Gatorade are staying, and Moraine Valley Community College sees that as a good sign.
In December, the school showed the world its new gym during an ESPN2 telecast of a game between high school powers Simeon and St. Rita. The...

Cable TV is about to get more expensive for millions of consumers because of a bidding war between networks and the country's most powerful sports leagues.
Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and scores of rural cable providers are tacking on sports...

The days of one game, one channel are quickly coming to an end. At least for the biggest games.
For the second straight year, ESPN is rolling out its “Megacast” for Monday’s national championship game between Oregon and Ohio State. When you include radio...

Even strong numbers from Chicago couldn’t prevent the Winter Classic delivering its lowest national rating Thursday.
The Blackhawks-Washington game at Nationals Park did a 2.3 overnight rating of major markets on NBC; 1 national ratings point is worth...

Even strong numbers from Chicago couldn’t prevent the Winter Classic delivering its lowest national rating on Thursday.
The Blackhawks-Capitals game at Nationals Park did a 2.3 overnight rating of major markets on NBC; one national ratings point is worth...

Eddie Olczyk, 16-year NHL veteran, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member, and current color analyst for Chicago Blackhawks hockey, will be the featured speaker at the Joliet Catholic Academy Alumni Association's Hilltopper Banquet to be held Thursday,...

The first couple days of the Proviso West Holiday Tournament were, in the words of the great Larry David, pretty, pretty good.
Stevenson survived a serious challenge from Maine South, St. Rita backed up last week's upset of Simeon with two more...

The postseason is one "Kokomo Bowl" from becoming the next verse in a Beach Boys song: "Miami, Bahamas, come on pretty mamma, Camellia, and Boca, this is not a joke-a." Four new bowl games plus the extra championship game means the...

Charles Matthews and Armani Chaney stayed on message.
Their coach, Gary DeCesare, refused to attach any special significance to Friday's victory at Moraine Valley Community College either.
St. Rita was ranked three spots behind Simeon in the Tribune Top...

Former North Carolina football coaches Butch Davis and Mack Brown both denied knowing about any academic fraud going on at the school.
Davis and Brown spoke on the air during halftime of ESPN2's game between Rutgers and Nebraska on Saturday. They are...

Bob Knight, once a showcase analyst for ESPN, now is barely in the network’s plans for college basketball.Wednesday, ESPN released its lineup of announcers and analysts for the new college basketball season, and you had to look pretty hard to find the...

ESPN Magazine is going all in on yet another return for Derrick Rose.
The Bulls guard is featured on the cover of its NBA preview, asking if he can tip the balance of power in the East. He is the subject of a long feature by Wright Thompson.
The...